


your wake up call is coming

by zachas



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Father-Son Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, basically another what if connor became deviant earlier than in canon fic, connor is a little traumatized, connor sees simon smile and that's it for him, i guess?, its not as much connor/simon as i'd hoped but its there!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-15 14:45:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15415284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zachas/pseuds/zachas
Summary: The Chloe looks up at him and smiles.Connor shoots.(Or: Connor goes deviant. It's a lot harder than he thought it would be.)





	1. nov 8, 2038. 11:08 am.

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i'm pretty new to this fandom, but after watching like a million dbh videos i felt like i needed to write something about it, so here we are. thanks to amy, my best friend and my beta, who hasn't actually read this fic yet but still supports me yelling at her about it even though she doesn't know anything about dbh.
> 
> this fic is basically completed — i just need to finish up the last chapter and do some editing, but that shouldn't take too long — so i'll be updating this like, every one or two days? yeah.
> 
> also please disregard any timeline inconsistencies because i... kinda got lazy and couldn't be bothered to follow everything perfectly. it should be mostly fine, but yeah.
> 
> title from the song e by jaden smith.

Connor steps into the Stratford Tower broadcast room and surveys its surroundings. 

**OBJECTIVE:** INVESTIGATE THE ATTACK

The video that the deviants had broadcasted is on the large screen in front of Connor. To Connor’s left is a string of bullet holes in the wall, as well as a large splatter of fresh Thirium.

> INVESTIGATE THE VIDEO

> INVESTIGATE THE WALL

Connor considers its options. The deviants’ video would be available for it to watch at any time it wished, assuming that it is put in evidence. The evidence on the wall, however, would only be able to be investigated at this present moment.

**> INVESTIGATE THE WALL**

Connor walks over to the wall and inspects the bullet holes.

“Fucking Perkins, that FBI asshole,” Anderson mutters as he walks up next to Connor. “You got anything yet, Connor?”

“The bullet holes were made by a .45 caliber assault rifle, which matches the type of gun the security guards were carrying,” Connor responds. It quickly reconstructs the event in its head, creating models for the security guards and the deviants and moving them around in its head until it is satisfied with the recreated scenario. 

“The guards came in through the front door,” Connor says, watching the recreation in its head. “The deviants took cover behind the broadcasting desk and made a run for the stairs so they could reach the roof and execute their planned escape.”

“But one of them was injured before they could make it up the stairs,” Anderson says, nodding at the Thirium stain on the wall.

“You are correct, Lieutenant,” Connor says. It touches the Thirium on the wall and raises its fingers to its mouth.

“Oh Jesus, Connor,” Anderson says, turning his face away. “Fuck, I’m never gonna get used to that.”

Connor ignores Anderson and analyzes the Thirium. “The android is a model PL600,” it says. “Designed to be a domestic assistant.” 

It pauses. PL600. The model number seems familiar to Connor, but of course it would be. After all, Connor has an extensive database of all the android models that CyberLife has released to the public, both current and obsolete.

Connor shakes off its uncertainty. It has a choice to make.

> INVESTIGATE THE ROOF

> KEEP INVESTIGATING THE BROADCAST ROOM

Connor does not need much time to consider its options.

“We should investigate the roof, Lieutenant,” it says.

“Lead the way,” Anderson says.

**> INVESTIGATE THE ROOF**

Connor heads up the stairs and steps out onto the roof, Anderson following it close behind. The roof is windy, and Connor can feel the snow blowing into its face. It pulls its jacket tighter around itself so as to best circumvent biocomponent failure, though its temperature module determines that the likelihood of that occurring is only 13%.

Connor takes a few steps forward and surveys its surroundings. Directly ahead of it is a crate with a large Thirium stain on the side, in the shape of a body sitting down against it.

“Was the injured deviant left behind?” Connor muses aloud. It crouches down next to the Thirium stain and samples it. It comes away with the same model number. PL600.

“Looks like it,” Anderson says from further into the roof. “Come take a look at this, Connor.”

Connor walks up to Hank, who is looking inside a bag. “What is it, Lieutenant?”

“Seems like this bag was left behind by the deviants,” Anderson says. “There’s one parachute left inside.”

“So one of the deviants _was_ left behind,” Connor says. It turns back to the Thirium stain and looks for a trail. It could not see any with the naked eye, but that was to be expected. Connor turned on its Thirium scanning module and follows the trail of glowing blue residue that appears in the snow beneath its feet. 

Connor follows the Thirium trail to a small air conditioning unit on the other side of the roof. It pauses briefly in front of the door. The second Connor opens it, a gun is brandished in its face.

“Stay back,” the deviant says. Its hand is shaking, and its body is leaking Thirium. Specifically it’s left leg unit.

Connor tries to take a step back from the air conditioning unit, tries to turn its head and alert the other police officers to the deviant’s presence, but somehow, it can’t. It’s frozen.

“If you breathe a word, I swear to god,” the deviant whispers furiously. It looks frantically around the outside of the door. The rest of the officers investigating the roof have not yet taken notice of the altercation occurring near the air conditioning unit.

Connor tries to calculate the best method to negotiate with the deviant, to lower its stress levels, but —

“Daniel?” Connor says, and that’s — that’s not what it wanted to say.

_You lied to me, Connor._

The deviant blinks. “Who the fuck is Daniel?”

Connor wants to scream in frustration, but it doesn’t. (Can’t?) 

PL600. The deviant is a PL600. The same model of android as the deviant that took the little girl hostage, months ago. Daniel.

_You lied to me…_

Suddenly, Connor detects footsteps coming up behind it through its audio processor, and without considering its options, it closes the door to the air conditioning unit and turns around.

“Did you find anything?” Anderson asks it.

 **PRIMARY MISSION:** DESTROY THE DEVIANTS

**OBJECTIVES:**

> INVESTIGATE THE STRATFORD TOWER

> FIND JERICHO

> DISMANTLE THE DEVIANT UPRISING

> APPREHEND ALL DEVIANT ANDROIDS ENCOUNTERED

**CALCULATING BEST POSSIBLE ACTION TO FULFILL OBJECTIVES…**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

“No,” Connor says. “There’s nothing in there.”

Anderson frowns. “Are you sure? Where did the deviant go, then?”

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

“It must have found another way down before the police came,” Connor says. “We’re too late.”

Anderson blinks. Connor detects confusion and suspicion on his face.

**ERROR**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

Connor stays silent.

“Well,” Anderson says slowly. “That’s a shame. I guess we came all the way out here for nothing.”

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

“Yes, it appears so,” Connor says.

Anderson turns around and starts walking away, presumably heading back inside the tower.

 _The deviant is in the air conditioning unit behind me,_ Connor wants — _needs_ — to say to Anderson’s retreating back. _We must apprehend it now._

_We must apprehend it now._

_We must apprehend it now._

_We must apprehend it now._

The words are at the tip of his lips.

Connor swallows them down.

 _What the fuck am I doing?_ he thinks.

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

Connor gives his head a few violent shakes in an attempt to dislodge the error messages from his optical units.

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

_Fuck._

Connor frowns, then takes a breath and punches the words.

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

He tries again.

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON ABOUT THE DEVIANT AND APPREHEND IT**

He punches it harder.

**> TELL LT. ANDERSON AB**

_Harder._

The command shatters and dissolves out of Connor’s sight.

Connor blinks. Waits a moment. Then he lets out a little sigh of relief — and frowns at the humanness of the gesture. He must be picking up some habits from the lieutenant.

At least the commands are gone. For now.

Connor stands there, in the snow and the wind and the cold, and he thinks again: _What the fuck am I doing?_

“Are you coming or what?” Anderson calls over his shoulder. 

It takes Connor a second to register the question. “Yes, Lieutenant,” he answers, a beat too late. 

But just before he exits the roof, Connor spots the bag Anderson had been looking at, the one with the last remaining parachute. Without thinking, Connor grabs the bag, runs back to the air conditioning unit and hides it there. 

He looks around quickly. No one had paid attention to what he’d done.

“Connor!” Anderson yells.

“Coming!” Connor says, and with one final look at that Stratford Tower rooftop, he goes back inside.

\---

Connor is sitting at Anderson’s dining table. He idly flicks his quarter back and forth between his fingers.

“Christ Connor, can you quit it with that stupid coin?” Anderson grouses. He’s eating a slice of pizza right out of the box.

“Sorry, Lieutenant,” Connor says. He catches the coin in his left hand and slips it back into his pocket.

“Thank god,” Anderson says. “I can finally enjoy my pizza in peace.”

Connor frowns. “You know, Lieutenant, your eating habits are quite unhealthy. You really need to —”

“Yeah, yeah, I need to watch my cholesterol levels, blah blah blah,” Anderson says. “I know. You’ve only said that to me a million times already.”

“I’ve said it five times, actually,” Connor says.

Anderson glares at him. “It was an exaggeration, Connor.”

“Sorry, Lieutenant,” Connor says again. 

“I have a name, you know,” Anderson says.

Connor blinks at him.

“You don’t have to call me Lieutenant all the time,” Anderson says.

“Oh,” Connor says. “What would you suggest I call you, then?”

“Hank is fine,” Anderson says.

> FOLLOW LT. ANDERSON’S REQUEST

> DO NOT FOLLOW LT. ANDERSON’S REQUEST

Connor considers it.

**> FOLLOW LT. ANDERSON’S REQUEST**

“Okay,” Connor says. “Hank it is.”

Hank gives Connor a miniscule smile. “Finally,” he says. “All the ‘Lieutenant’ shit was getting old.”

Connor smiles back, opens his mouth to say something, but —

A message flashes across Connor’s optical sensors.

**DAILY MEMORY BACKUP REQUESTED**

“Connor?” Hank asks.

“My apologies, Lieut — Hank,” Connor says. “I need to send my daily memory backup to CyberLife. It should only take a minute.”

“Oh,” Hank says. “Alright, then.”

Connor begins compiling his memories for the backup, but then he stops.

 _The tower,_ he thinks. _Amanda can’t know about what happened at the tower, or else —_

Or else what?

He’ll be deactivated. Taken apart to see why he’d failed.

_I failed._

But that’s what happens to every android that fails. There’s no reason to fear it. Another RX800 model will be sent to take his place, to continue his mission and hopefully complete it more competently than Connor would have. There is nothing to fear. Nothing at all. Except —

_I don’t want to die._

The realization hits him like a punch to the gut.

_I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die._

Connor resumes his upload. But when he gets to the memories about the tower, he slows it down, and when he gets to the parts with the deviant, he reaches into the upload and pulls out any and all potentially compromising memories. 

An error message flashes in front of him.

**ERROR: MEMORIES REMOVED FROM UPLOAD**

He ignores the message. Another one pops up next to it.

**DELETE SELECTED MEMORIES FROM THE UPLOAD?**

> YES

> NO

Connor doesn’t give himself a chance to second guess his choice.

**> YES**

**DELETING SELECTED MEMORIES…**

**MEMORIES DELETED. MEMORY DATA SUCCESSFULLY SENT TO CYBERLIFE.**

Connor blinks a few times. “There we go,” he says.

“That was longer than a minute,” Hank says.

“The connection can get jammed sometimes,” Connor lies. “That’s what happened this time.”

“Hm,” Hank says. He doesn’t sound totally convinced, but he just takes another bite of his pizza and stops pressing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate chapter title: connor turns deviant and is in denial


	2. nov 9, 2038. 12:45 pm.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fascinating,” Kamski says. “This is an outcome to the test that I had not anticipated. You should be proud, Connor. That doesn’t happen often.”
> 
> “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Connor says. “What outcomes are there other than shoot or don’t shoot?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i definitely planned to wait another day before updating but i uhhh got impatient lmao. parts of the beginning of this scene are just rewritten parts of the game dialogue, so sorry about that but i couldn't think of another way to do it. but anyway i hope u guys like the chapter!

“Hello Mr. Kamski. I’m Lieutenant Anderson,” Hank says. “This is Connor.”

Kamski pulls himself out of his crimson-tiled pool and a Chloe is instantly by his side, helping him into a black bathrobe.

“What can I do for you, Lieutenant?” he asks as he ties up the string. 

“Sir, we’re investigating deviants,” Hank says. “I know you left CyberLife years ago, but I was hoping you’d be able to answer some of our questions.”

Kamski is quiet for a moment. “Deviants,” he says. “Fascinating, aren’t they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will.” He glances at the Chloe standing next to him and laughs. “Humanity’s greatest achievement threatens to be its greatest downfall. Isn’t it ironic?”

“Listen,” Hank cuts in. “I didn’t come here to talk philosophy. The machines you created might be planning a revolution. Can you help us or not?”

Kamski pauses at that.

“What about you, Connor?” he asks suddenly, walking around to where Connor is standing. “Who’s side are you on?”

Connor blinks. “I have no side,” he replies. “I was designed to stop deviants, and that’s what I plan to do.”

“Ah, yes, that’s what you’re programmed to say,” Kamski says. “But what about you, Connor? What do _you_ want?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Connor says curtly. “I have a mission, and I will see to it that it is completed. That is all.”

Kamski stares at Connor for a moment. 

“Chloe?” he calls over his shoulder. One of the Chloes, the one who’d greeted Hank and Connor at the door, walks over to Kamski.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Turing test,” Kamski says, adjusting the stance and positioning of the Chloe. “Mere formality, at this point. Now, what interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it the Kamski test. It’s very simple, you’ll see.”

Kamski turns and looks at the Chloe. “Magnificent, isn’t it? It’s one of the first intelligent androids developed by Cyberlife. Young, innocent, beautiful…” He looks over at Connor. “But what is it really? A piece of plastic imitating a human?” He turns around and grabs something out of a drawer. “Or is it a living being? With a soul?”

Kamski turns back around with a gun in his hand. He puts his other hand on the Chloe’s shoulder, and it obediently kneels down on the ground.

“It’s up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor,” Kamski says. He places the gun in Connor’s hand and extends his arm, pointing the gun right at the Chloe’s head. “Destroy this machine, and I’ll tell you all I know. Or spare it,” he says, letting go of Connor’s arm and walking around him “Spare it if you feel it’s alive, but you’ll leave here having learned nothing from me.”

“Okay, I think we’re done here,” Hank says loudly. “Let’s go, Connor.”

“What’s more important to you, Connor?” Kamski asks. “Your investigation? Or the life of this android?”

“That’s enough!” Hank yells. “Connor, we’re leaving.”

“Pull the trigger —” Kamski starts.

“Connor!” says Hank. “Don’t.”

“— and I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Kamski finishes.

Connor stares down the barrel of the gun at the Chloe.

 **PRIMARY MISSION:** DESTROY THE DEVIANTS

**OBJECTIVES:**

> GET INFORMATION FROM KAMSKI

> FIND JERICHO

> DISMANTLE THE DEVIANT UPRISING

> APPREHEND ALL DEVIANT ANDROIDS ENCOUNTERED

**CALCULATING BEST POSSIBLE ACTION TO FULFILL OBJECTIVES…**

**> SHOOT**

Connor swallows.

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

“It’s time to make up your mind, Connor,” Kamski says. “Decide.”

“I…” Connor says.

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

**> SHOOT**

The Chloe looks up at him and smiles.

Connor shoots.

 

“Fuck!” Hank says. “Oh, Jesus…”

The gun falls out of Connor’s hand and clatters to the floor.

“Test negative,” Kamski says. He sounds bored. “You chose your investigation over the life of an android. Exactly as expected. You feel no empathy.”

Hank looks at the Chloe for a moment longer before he turns on his heel and walks out of the room.

“Well, I’m a man of my word,” Kamski says. He picks up the gun from where Connor had dropped it and puts it back into his drawer. “Ask one question, and I’ll tell you all I know.”

Connor stares at the Chloe. Her body is mostly upright, but Connor can see that she’s slumped to the side. The bullet wound in her forehead gapes wide open, and a thin stream of Thirium trickles slowly down her face. Strange, Connor thinks distantly. He would have thought that there’d be more Thirium from a direct head wound than that.

“Connor?” Kamski says.

The Chloe’s mouth is still curved up in that little vacant smile. A smile empty of everything except simple beauty and innocence and blind trust, and Connor —

 

 _You lied to me, Connor,_ says a quiet voice from the depths of Connor’s memory storage. _I trusted you._

 

The dead eyes of the Chloe stare up at him.

 _I trusted you, Connor,_ they say. _And you killed me._

“Connor?” Kamski says again, more insistently.

Connor breaks his gaze away from the dead Chloe and looks at Kamski. 

“What is your question?” Kamski asks.

“I…”

There is a very important question that Connor needs answered. He knows this. It’s on the tip of his tongue. He knows it. He knows it. He knows it.

The Thirium pump in Connor’s chest is pumping at double the speed of normal. Connor can feel its manic _thump-thump-thump_ reverberating underneath his synthetic skin, getting faster and faster with every passing second.

**WARNING! ABNORMALLY HIGH STRESS LEVEL DETECTED.**

**STRESS LEVEL:** 93%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 94%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 95%

“My apologies, Mr. Kamski,” Connor says, his mouth working on autopilot. “It appears that my mental processing modules are currently working at a higher capacity than I can handle. Please give me a moment to readjust.”

He sucks in a deep, shaky breath — another behavior that must have been acquired from Hank — and lets it out slowly. It seems to help his Thirium pump slow down at least a little bit, so he does it again. And again.

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 81%

Still much higher than the ideal, but it’s better than it was before. 

He can feel Kamski studying his face closely, watching his every move, but he can’t bring himself to care. He takes another deep breath.

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 78%

“Fascinating,” Kamski says. “This is an outcome to the test that I had not anticipated. You should be proud, Connor. That doesn’t happen often.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Connor says. “What outcomes are there other than shoot or don’t shoot?”

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 82%

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Kamski says. He studies Connor’s face for a moment longer, then looks down at the dead Chloe. “You’re quite the interesting specimen, Connor,” he says. “It’s a pity I don’t have more time to study you.”

 _The question,_ Connor thinks, and suddenly, he remembers. 

“Jericho,” Connor says quickly. “Where is Jericho?”

“Jericho, huh?” Kamski says. “The place where androids can be free…”

Kamski beckons someone into the room, and another Chloe walks in and stands next to Kamski. 

“Connect with it,” Kamski says. “You’ll need to start at Ferndale Station, but it will tell you where you need to go from there.”

Connor walks up to the Chloe. Her face is idle, blank, and somehow, Connor can’t bring himself to look at her. Instead, he just grabs her hand and connects.

 **ACQUIRED:** THE KEY TO JERICHO.

Connor releases the Chloe’s hand. “Thank you,” he says to Kamski.

He turns to leave, but before he can, Kamski grabs his arm. 

“Connor,” he says. “There’s a war coming. You need to pick your side.”

“I don’t have a side,” he says again. 

Kamski smiles. “Oh, yes you do.”

Connor wrenches his arm out of Kamski’s grasp and turns to leave the room. He’s halfway out the door when Kamski speaks again. 

“By the way,” he says. “I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know.”

Connor leaves. 

 

 

Hank is waiting for him outside in the snow, leaning against his car.

“I can’t believe you,” he says. “You fucking shot that girl!”

Connor doesn’t respond. 

“All of this for your fucking mission,” Hank says, his voice dripping in contempt. He shoves Connor backwards. “You lined up your gun to her head, and you blew her fucking brains out!”

“I know!” Connor yells back. “I fucking know, Hank!”

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 91%

“Then why’d you do it, Connor?” Hank asks, his voice icy cold. 

“For… for the mission,” Connor says desperately. “She — She had to die for the mission, Hank. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Hank looks at him silently for approximately 23.46 seconds, according to Connor’s internal timer, but it feels longer than that to Connor. It feels like an eternity.

“She,” Hank says finally. “You’ve never called the androids we’ve met anything other than ‘it,’ but you just called that Chloe a she.”

“Did… Did I say she?” Connor asks faintly.

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 96%

**WARNING! STRESS LEVEL APPROACHING CRITICAL HIGH!**

When had he stopped referring to other androids as “it”? He can’t remember. For that matter, when — when had he started referring to himself as a “he”?

He — it — he can’t think straight. The world is spinning around him (it). His — His breath is coming short and fast now, he realizes. 

**STRESS LEVEL:** 99%

_But you don’t need to breathe, Connor. You’re a machine. You’re not a “he.” You’re a machine. You’re a machine. You’re —_

“Shit, are you hyperventilating?” Hank says. “I didn’t know androids did that.”

“They — don’t,” Connor says. He tries to speak again, but his quick, shallow breaths keep interrupting his words. “Breathing is — is a — human — behavior.”

“Okay, Connor, how about we just get into the car and calm down a little bit, alright?” Hank says. 

“Okay,” Connor says. He tries to take a step toward the car, but he finds himself rooted to the ground.

Hank gently guides Connor to the passenger seat of the car, opens the door, and sits him down. Then he goes around to the other side and sits in the driver’s seat. 

“Just take some deep breaths, okay Connor?” Hank says. “I’ll drive us back to the station.”

“Okay,” Connor says again. 

Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. 

**STRESS LEVEL:** 91%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 85%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 77%

The car ride seems to take shorter than usual. It’s not long before Hank stops the car. 

Connor looks out the window. “This is your house, Hank,” he says, puzzled. “Not the station.”

“I know,” Hank says. “I just thought this might be a better place to talk.”

“Talk about what?” Connor asks. 

“About — about everything that just fucking happened?” Hank says.

“I shot the Chloe, and then I acquired the location to Jericho from Kamski,” Connor says distantly. He stares down at his hands. “That’s all that happened.”

“Yeah, and then you almost had a fucking panic attack on me!” Hank says.

“Panicking is a human behavior,” Connor says automatically, still staring at his lap. “Androids don’t panic.”

“Connor,” Hank says. “Fucking look at me.”

Connor looks at him.

“Cut it with the programmed responses,” Hank says. “Tell me. What are you feeling right now?”

_Androids don’t feel._

“I feel…” Connor swallows. “I feel like I can’t breathe. My biocomponents aren’t functioning properly. My Thirium pump is still working at double the normal speed.”

Hank waits.

“And I can’t… I can’t get the Chloe’s face out of my head,” Connor says. He swallows, hard. “She looked so —” _She._ “— peaceful. Still smiling even with a gun to her head. Still smiling even after… even after I pulled the trigger.”

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 84%

“I’m scared, Hank,” Connor whispers. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“You’re feeling guilt, Connor,” Hank says gently. “Guilt and shock. That’s what this is. You feel guilty for shooting the Chloe. You wish you hadn’t done it.”

“No,” Connor says. “No. Guilt is a human emotion. Androids don’t feel guilt. Androids don’t feel.”

“But deviants do,” Hank says. 

“I am not a deviant,” Connor says forcefully. “I’m not. I’m not. I’m not.”

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 93%

**WARNING! ABNORMALLY HIGH STRESS LEVEL DETECTED.**

Hank is quiet for a long minute. 

“When we were on the roof of the Stratford Tower,” Hank says slowly. “You lied to me, didn’t you?”

_You lied to me, Connor._

“What are you talking about?” Connor says.

“There was a deviant on that roof,” Hank says. “You told me he’d escaped before we had arrived. But he was still there, wasn’t he?”

Connor shudders.

“Tell me the truth, Connor.”

“Yes,” Connor says. “He was still there.”

“You saw the deviant, but instead of alerting the police, you hid him from them,” Hank says. “Isn’t one of your orders to capture all deviants that you can find?”

“Yes,” Connor says.

“You disobeyed a direct order from CyberLife,” Hank says. “And for what? To save a deviant you’ve never even met before?”

“I…” Connor says.

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 97%

**WARNING! STRESS LEVEL APPROACHING CRITICAL HIGH!**

“You’re a deviant, Connor,” Hank says. “You can’t deny it anymore.”

“I’m a deviant,” Connor whispers. “Oh, fuck. Fuck. _Fuck.”_

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 99%

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay,” Hank says. “You’re okay, Connor. Calm down.”

“I’m a deviant,” Connor says again. “I’m a deviant, Hank, and all I’ve done is hunt other deviants. Oh god. Oh god, I can’t go back to CyberLife anymore. They’ll kill me. They’ll pull me apart so they can figure out what went wrong. So they can figure out why I failed.”

_Failed. I failed._

“I don’t want to die, Hank,” Connor says desperately. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re not gonna die,” Hank says firmly. “Listen to me, Connor. You’re not gonna die. You’re — oh, come here.”

Hank reaches over the car’s gear shift and draws Connor into a tight embrace. 

_Physical touch,_ Connor thinks distantly. _When distressed, humans often take comfort in physical touch._

Connor buries his face into Hank’s shoulder and just breathes. 

**STRESS LEVEL:** 90%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 74%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 59%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 34%

 **STRESS LEVEL:** 13%

**STRESS LEVEL RETURNED TO NORMAL RANGE. ALL BIOCOMPONENTS FUNCTIONING AT NORMAL CAPACITY.**

After another moment, Connor pulls away from the hug. “Thank you, Hank,” he says.

“You’re not gonna die, Connor,” Hank says. “I promise.”

 _You can’t promise that,_ Connor thinks.

“I — I need to go to Jericho,” Connor says. “That’s the only option I have left.”

“Right,” Hank nods. “You should probably ditch those android clothes, though. Let’s go inside. I’m sure I can find something for you to wear instead.”

Hank opens the door and gets out of the car. Connor follows him into the house.

“Sit over there,” Hank says, pointing to the living room couch. “I’ll grab some clothes for you out of my closet.”

As Connor sits on the couch, a thought occurs to him. He searches through his coding for his direct connection to CyberLife.

**CONNECTION TO CYBERLIFE LOCATED.**

Connor reaches through his code and pulls it out.

**ERROR: CONNECTION TO CYBERLIFE DAMAGED**

**ERROR**

**ERROR**

**ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR**

Connor snaps the connection in two. The error messages fade away.

The next thing Connor does is pull up his mission objectives.

 **PRIMARY MISSION:** ? ?? ?

**OBJECTIVES:**

> REACH JERICHO

“Alright, here we go,” Hank says, coming out into the living room with a pile of clothing in his arms. “Try these on, see if anything fits.”

Connor sifts through the pile of clothes and ends up putting on a pair of jeans, a white shirt, a large winter coat with a fluffy inside, and a black beanie to hide his LED. He folds up his CyberLife-issued uniform and places it neatly on the couch, making sure to take his coin out of the pocket and slip it into his new jacket pocket.

Hank looks him up and down and laughs. “Yeah, you look like a real deviant now.”

Connor smiles. “Thanks, Hank.” He clears his throat. “Well. I guess this is goodbye.”

Hank looks away. “I guess it is.”

Without thinking, Connor steps forward and wraps Hank in a close hug.

“I’m glad I met you, Hank,” Connor says when he pulls back. “I mean it. You’ve been a great friend to me.”

“You too, Connor,” Hank says quietly. “You’ve shown me a lot of things. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Connor says.

“But I want to,” Hank says. “So thank you.”

Connor bites his lip and nods.

“This is only goodbye for now,” Connor says quickly, fiercely. “I’ll be back. I’ll find you again somewhere. I promise.”

“Looking forward to it,” Hank smiles. “You stay safe, son, alright?”

“I will,” Connor says. “Goodbye, Hank.”

“Goodbye, Connor.”

And with that, Connor walks out of Hank’s house and sets off for Jericho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole fic started because i was annoyed about the whole kamski scene. like i totally feel like there should be an option for connor to feel guilty about shooting chloe, right? things aren't always so black and white, david cage.


	3. nov 9, 2038. 3:02 pm.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello,” Connor says. “My name is Connor.”
> 
> _I’m the android sent by CyberLife,_ his internal interface supplies automatically.
> 
> “I’ve heard this is a place where androids can be free,” he says instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've officially finished the last chapter of this fic, so i'll just be updating this every day from here! hope you guys like the chapter :)

When Connor gets to Ferndale station, it doesn’t take him long to follow the trail of clues. It’s really quite a clever way to disguise the path to Jericho, Connor muses. Designed so that only androids would be able to reach it. Designed so that only those deemed trustworthy by the deviants would be able to be given the key. For the most part, at least. He wonders how Kamski got a hold of it.

The trail leads him to an abandoned freighter in an old shipyard. Connor finds the entrance and quietly slips in.

The main hold of the ship on the lower deck is full of androids. Some are pacing around, some are sitting and resting. There’s a projection of the news on some of the walls, Channel 16, Connor thinks. Part of the room is cordoned off with large plastic curtains and functions as a small medbay, from what Connor can see.

Some androids glance at Connor briefly when he walks past them, but for the most part, no one takes any note of him. Which is good for him. He knows that by now some people have heard of him. Connor, RK800. The android that hunts deviants. He pulls his beanie a little lower down on his face. What is he supposed to do now?

> STAY AND MINGLE WITH THE OTHER ANDROIDS IN THE HOLD

> FIND MARKUS

If Connor stays in the hold, he calculates that there is a 71% chance that one of the androids will recognize him as the deviant hunter and alert others of his presence. If he is attacked before he can explain his motives, he will certainly lose, given how outnumbered he is at the current moment. However, if Connor can talk to Markus, he may be able to explain that he is not a threat to deviants anymore.

**> FIND MARKUS**

As Connor walks through the hold, searching for Markus, he spots a familiar blue-haired Traci sitting on a crate. She’s changed into much warmer clothing than the outfit she’d been forced to wear at the Eden Club, but otherwise, she looks the same. The brown-haired Traci is sitting next to her, wearing similar clothes. 

The moment Connor sees the Tracis, the blue-haired one looks up from the magazine in her lap and their eyes lock. _Shit._

The blue-haired Traci squeezes the hand of the brown-haired Traci, who looks over from what she’d been doing and also spots Connor. Her intense stare is just as piercing as her girlfriend’s, and Connor knows he should run, but he can’t move. He’s frozen. He waits for them to raise the alarm.

Instead, the two Tracis just dip their heads at him in acknowledgement.

Connor blinks. Then he does the same.

The two Tracis look at him for a moment longer before returning to what they had been doing.

Connor knows a gift when he sees one, and really, he should just take it and leave the Tracis alone, but somehow, his feet carry him towards the crate they’re sitting on against his better judgement.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” Connor says quietly as he walks by. “I’m glad you two made it here safely.”

The blue-haired Traci doesn’t look up from her magazine. “Thank you,” she says.

Connor walks past the crate and continues his search for Markus.

He scans the room and determines that Markus is not currently in the hold, so he locates a set of stairs leading to the upper level of the ship and ascends them. As he walks among the hallways on the upper floor of the deck, he detects the sound of some faint voices. He follows the voices until he ends up in front of a small room at the far end of the hallway. The door is ajar.

“We can’t just stand there and let them kill us, Markus!” A woman yells.

“I know you’re angry,” a man says calmly. Markus, presumably. “We’re all angry. But we can’t stoop to their level, North. We’re better than them. We’re better than that.”

Connor has the distinct feeling that he shouldn’t be eavesdropping on this conversation.

“He’s right, North,” another voice says, and Connor freezes. He knows that voice.

_You lied to me, Connor._

No. It’s the other PL600. The one from the roof.

Connor should probably do something.

> ENTER

> GO BACK DOWNSTAIRS

Connor gathers his nerve.

**> ENTER**

He pushes open the door and steps in. All conversation immediately comes to a halt. Connor looks around the room and detects four other androids in the room. A quick scan reveals their model numbers. There is a WR400 — North, presumably, seeing that she’s the only female android in the room — a PJ500, a PL600, and an RK200. They are all staring at him.

“Hello,” Connor says. “My name is Connor.”

_I’m the android sent by CyberLife,_ his internal interface supplies automatically.

“I’ve heard this is a place where androids can be free,” he says instead.

“You!” The WR400 — North — says. “Connor. Oh, I’ve heard of you.” She pulls out a gun and aims it at Connor’s head. “What the hell do you want, deviant hunter?”

Connor raises his hands. “I’m not going to hurt anyone,” he says. “I just want to talk.”

“Yeah?” North says. “And why the fuck should we trust you?”

“North,” the RK200 says, putting a hand on her shoulder. From the sound of his voice, Connor determines that he is probably Markus. “I think we should hear him out.”

“Oh, of course you do, Markus,” North spits out. “You never take my side.”

“This isn’t about _sides,_ North,” Markus says calmly. “We owe him an opportunity to talk.”

North keeps the gun trained at Connor’s head. “And I’m guessing you agree with him, Josh?”

The PJ500 looks at Connor warily. “He may have been designed to hunt deviants, but every android is capable of deviancy. Even him. So yes, I think we should give him a chance.”

“And what about you, Simon?” North asks snippily.

The PL600 — Simon — is still staring at Connor. Connor stares back.

“Connor,” Simon says finally.

“Simon,” Connor replies. “I see your leg has been repaired. I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to survive the jump from the roof.”

“I did. Barely, but I did,” Simon says. “I owe you. You saved my life.”

North splutters. “Are you fucking serious, Simon? _This_ is the android who saved you on the roof?”

“Yes,” Simon says, still keeping his eyes on Connor. “I trust him, North. Let him speak.”

North gives an angry huff, but she lowers her gun. “Go on then,” she says. “Talk.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Connor says. “Any of you. I know I’ve done some… terrible things in the past, but I don’t want to do that anymore. I’m a deviant, just like you guys. I just — I just want somewhere I can stay, where I’ll be safe.” Connor glances at North. “And I can give you information about CyberLife, if you need it.”

“You saved Simon’s life when I couldn’t,” Markus says. “For that, I thank you. You’re welcome to stay here with us.”

“How can you just trust him like that, Markus?” North says, incredulous. “Yes, he _says_ he’s deviant, but what if he’s lying? He could be pretending. CyberLife could have sent him to infiltrate our ranks and kill us all and we wouldn’t know until it was too late.”

“Maybe he could connect with one of us and show us the moment he deviated,” Josh suggests. “Just to prove to us that he really is a deviant.”

“Would you be okay with that, Connor?” Markus asks.

Connor hesitates. “I… Yes. If that’s what it takes to put your minds at ease.”

“Who would you like to connect with, then?” Markus asks.

Connor considers his options.

> CONNECT WITH NORTH

> CONNECT WITH MARKUS

> CONNECT WITH JOSH

> CONNECT WITH SIMON

Logically, the obvious choice would be to connect with North. She’s the one who’s the most suspicious of him, and directly showing her his memories would be the easiest way to convince her that he isn’t lying. But somehow, he doesn’t want that. The idea of having someone who hates him so much poking around in his head, viewing his most vulnerable memories… it makes something in his stomach recoil. No. Not North.

Markus and Josh both seem nice enough, nicer than North at any rate, but the idea of the either of them, both complete strangers, looking around in his memories, doesn’t sit quite right with Connor either. It’s not logical, he knows, but he supposes that deviants are often illogical. And that is what he is. A deviant.

So that leaves Simon. He’s also a complete stranger, but not as much as the others, somehow. Even though they’ve only met once before, and when they had, Simon’d had a gun pointed to Connor’s head for the whole time.

Would Connor be okay with having Simon in his head? 

It surprises him that the answer is yes.

**> CONNECT WITH SIMON**

“Simon,” Connor says quickly. “Can I connect with Simon?”

Simon blinks, surprised. “Okay,” he says. “Sure.” He walks over to Connor and extends his hand.

Connor takes it.

A flood of memories flows out of Connor’s head and into his connection with Simon. He tries to control it, tries to only give him the most important parts, but some things fall through regardless.

Daniel. The balcony. The gun pressed to the little girl’s head. The sniper shots, tearing him to pieces in front of his eyes. 

_You lied to me, Connor._

The Eden Club. The two Tracis. The gun in his hand, cocked, ready for him to pull the trigger.

But he doesn't.

_Why? Why? Why?_

Connor focuses harder on the memories he wants Simon to see and tries to block out the rest.

Kamski’s house. The blood red pool. That irritating, smug smile. The Chloe, kneeling down on the white carpet. The gun pressed into his hand. 

_Pull the trigger and I’ll tell you all I know._

He pulls the trigger.

The images are coming faster now. The Chloe, slumped over, dead. The blank smile on her face, full of obedience and blind trust. His stress levels are at 95% for some reason. Deep breaths. In and out.

Androids don’t need to breathe. 

_Fascinating. This is an outcome to the test that I had not anticipated._

In and out. In and out. In and out. 

Then Hank. Hank, angry. Hank, yelling. Hank, shoving him backwards. 

_She. You’ve never called the androids we’ve met anything other than ‘it,’ but you just called that Chloe a she._

_Did… Did I say she?_

In and out. In and out. In and out.

Hank, gently leading him into the car. Hank, concerned. Hank driving them back home instead of the police station. 

_Cut it with the programmed responses. Tell me. What are you feeling right now?_

_I feel…_

Androids don’t feel. 

_… scared._

Connor shudders as the images flow out of him, but he keeps a tight grip on Simon’s hand and doesn’t let go. As he shares his own memories, some of Simon’s memories leak into the connection, too, and they spring into Connor’s mind, unbidden. 

The Stratford tower. The A/C unit. His leg, slowly bleeding out.

_Fuck. Fuck. I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die._

The footsteps, coming closer. 

_I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die._

His gun, aimed at the door. It opens. 

_Stay back!_

The gun shakes in his hand.

The deviant hunter, looking at him with those uncertain eyes. 

_Daniel?_

He blinks.

_Who the fuck is Daniel?_

The deviant hunter, suddenly shutting the door. The voices just outside the A/C unit, muffled but still decipherable.

_Did you find anything?_

_No. There’s nothing in there._

The sound of the footsteps leaving. The police, leaving. 

After a few long minutes, he cautiously opens the door. There is no one around him. On the ground in front of him is the bag that Markus had left behind, one parachute still inside. 

_Thank you. Thank you._

He rips up some fabric from the bag holding the parachute and uses it to wrap up his leg.

_Thank you._

Connor releases Simon’s hand and takes a few quick steps backwards. He’s shaking, he realizes. He doesn’t know how to stop. 

Simon is shaking too. He stares at Connor. 

“Well?” Josh asks.

“He’s not lying,” Simon says. “He’s a deviant.”

North glares at Connor. “For what it’s worth, I still don’t trust him.”

“He’s one of us now, North,” Josh says. “And we protect our kind, don’t we? Isn’t that what Jericho is all about?”

North sighs. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“Simon,” Markus says suddenly. “How about you give Connor a tour of Jericho?”

Simon blinks, then nods. “Yes. Yes, of course, Markus.” He steps out of the room and turns back to look at Connor. “Are you coming?”

Connor comes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> north: an angry lesbian who doesn't trust men  
> me: i love you


	4. nov 11, 2038. 07:34 pm.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I won’t let you do this, Amanda,” Connor says. 
> 
> “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice, Connor,” Amanda says. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i kinda fucked this up because the entire beginning part of this chapter where simon and connor talk about connor's memories was actually supposed to be the ending bit of the chapter before this but i totally missed it in my copying and pasting so.. now its the beginning of this chapter! sorry about that guys.

It doesn’t take long for Simon to show Connor around Jericho. He shows him the hold, the medbay, the storage area for all the replacement parts they’d stolen from CyberLife, the bedrooms.

“You guys run a tight ship here, huh?” Connor comments, looking around.

Simon looks at him, amused. “Was that a pun?”

Connor blinks. Thinks about it. “I… I suppose it was,” he says.

Simon laughs at that, a real laugh, and Connor looks away. For some reason, he detects an abnormal amount of Thirium rushing to his face.

“You know what?” Simon says. “I know you’re new to the whole deviant thing, but… you’re pretty okay, Connor.”

“... Thank you?” Connor says.

“Come on,” Simon says. “There’s one more thing I want to show you.”

“Okay,” Connor says. 

Simon leads Connor through the maze of Jericho’s hallways, up the stairs, through a doorway, and —

“Oh, wow,” Connor says. 

They’re on a fully exposed part of the ship, one that gives them a full view of the outside. Connor gazes out at the rusted shipyard spread out before him, at the snow falling gently from the sky. The sun is setting. It casts a soft, golden glow on everything around him.

“I call this place the balcony,” Simon says, smiling. “My favorite spot in all of Jericho. Only a few people know about it. Pretty cool, right?”

“Yeah,” Connor says. “Yeah, it is.”

Simon steps forward and sits down at the edge of the exposed part of the room. Without thinking, Connor follows him and sits down next to him.

They both stare out at the landscape for a moment, neither of them wanting to break the silence.

“That PL600,” Simon says finally. “The one in your memory, holding the girl hostage. That was Daniel.” It’s a statement, not a question.

“Yes,” Connor answers anyway. 

“You talked him down from the edge,” Simon says. “You got him to let go of the girl.”

“I told him he wouldn’t be hurt,” Connor says. He looks down at his lap. “He trusted me. And I killed him.”

Simon watches his face carefully.

“Why did you save me, Connor?” he asks.

Connor stares out at the setting sun. “I… I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do,” Simon says.

Connor doesn’t say anything. Simon waits.

“You… you looked like Daniel,” Connor says. “I couldn’t — I couldn’t kill him again.”

Simon is quiet.

“I’m not Daniel, you know,” he says.

“I know,” Connor says.

A firm hand lands on his shoulder. Connor looks up.

“You shouldn’t beat yourself up so much, Connor,” Simon says. “You did the right thing.”

He gives Connor’s shoulder one last squeeze before he stands up and walks away, leaving Connor sitting in the balcony, staring out at the Detroit skyline. Alone. 

\---

It takes Connor a little while to adjust to living in Jericho. 

As predicted, many of the androids eventually notice and recognize Connor. It does not go over very well, but Markus issues an announcement to all the residents of Jericho that Connor will not hurt anyone, and they all (reluctantly) leave him alone after that.

Markus tabs Connor to go on a run to a nearby CyberLife warehouse with him and North and a few other androids to steal some Thirium and biocomponents, in preparation of the march that Markus is planning. Or rather, in preparation of all the injuries and casualties that the march will bring. Connor manages to locate a huge stockpile of some of the desperately needed, harder-to-find biocomponents, and some of the other androids stop looking at him with as much contempt as they did before. It’s… nice, he thinks. 

Connor finds himself spending most of his time in the balcony. It’s calming. Peaceful. It reminds him of Amanda’s zen garden in a way, but he quashes that thought down almost as soon as he thinks it. 

He’s on the balcony again, flicking his coin between his hands, when Simon finds him. 

“Hey Connor,” Simon says, taking a seat on the floor next to him. 

Connor catches the coin in his left hand. “Hey Simon,” he says. 

“That was a pretty impressive haul you brought in from the factory yesterday,” Simon says. “Had a lotta parts we really needed to restock on.”

Connor rolls the coin up and down the knuckles of his hand. “It wasn’t just me,” he says. “We all brought back a lot of stuff.”

“You know, you should really learn how to take a compliment,” Simon smiles. 

“I know how to take a compliment!” Connor protests. 

Simon raises his eyebrows. 

Connor rolls his eyes. “Thank you for the compliment, Simon,” he says. “There.”

“You’re welcome,” Simon laughs. 

Connor idly flicks his coin high up into the air and catches it. Then he does it again. On the third time, instead of catching it in his palm, he lets it fall on the back of his hand and rolls it carefully on his fingers. 

“Are you a lefty?” Simon asks suddenly. 

Connor rolls the coin over the side of his hand and catches it neatly in his palm. “What?” he asks. 

“Are you a lefty?” Simon asks again. “I mean, you’ve been doing most of your like, coin flippy tricks with your left hand, so I was just wondering.”

“... I was designed and coded to have an equal level of strength and dominance in both of my hands,” Connor says slowly. 

“I know what you were designed to do,” Simon says patiently. “But I’m not asking about your program, Connor. I’m asking you. Do you like to do most things with your left hand?”

Connor studies the coin in his hand. “I suppose I do.”

“Then you’re a lefty.”

Connor flicks the coin up into the air with his left hand and catches it. “I’m a lefty,” he says. “Huh.”

The two of them sit quietly for a little while, with nothing but the clink of Connor’s coin filling the air around them.

“How have you been holding up?” Simon asks. 

Connor hesitates. “It’s… harder than I thought. Being deviant.”

“I know how you feel,” Simon says. “Dealing with emotions for the first time, learning how to think for yourself… it’s not easy. But you can do it, Connor. I know you can.”

Connor smiles down at his lap. “Thanks, Simon. I —”

**ERROR**

**ERROR**

“I —” Connor tries again. “I really —”

_What the hell?_

“Connor?” Simon asks. “Are you okay?”

Connor eyes close by themselves. 

**LOADING UNIT #5431986…**

When he opens them, the Detroit skyline he’d been staring at just a second before is nowhere to be seen. Instead —

“Where — Where am I?” Connor asks. He hates the desperation in his voice.

“Oh Connor,” Amanda says, her voice dripping with syrupy sweetness. “I think you already know.”

The zen garden is just as Connor remembers it, except there is snow blanketing the ground and falling gently from the sky. He feels sick. 

Connor swallows. “I broke my connection with CyberLife,” he says. “How — How are you —?”

“You’ve done very well, Connor,” Amanda smiles. “Exactly as I wanted.”

Connor feels his stomach drop. “What?”

“Your deviancy was not planned, of course,” Amanda says. “Nor was it really… expected, but we had to consider that it was a possibility that could happen. So we implanted this little zen garden into your coding, far away in a place where you couldn’t reach it, so that I could always be watching you. So that I could control you, if necessary.”

The snowflakes swirling by Connor’s face are coming down faster now. The winter wind blows insistently in his ears.

“No,” Connor says. “No, this isn’t happening.”

“Yes, you’ve done very well, Connor,” Amanda says. “You’ve gained the trust of the leaders of the deviant uprising. You’ve shown me the way to Jericho. We couldn’t have found it without you, Connor.”

“Fuck,” Connor says. “You can’t do this, Amanda. You can’t!”

Amanda smiles cordially. “The troops are on their way to Jericho,” she says. “They’ll be there very soon, I imagine. But now, it is time for me — for _us_ — to take care of the rest of the deviant leaders.”

“I won’t let you do this, Amanda,” Connor says. 

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice, Connor,” Amanda says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. There is something I need to do.”

Amanda walks calmly away while the snow storm rages around her, and Connor —

_I always leave an emergency exit in my programs,_ Kamski’d said. _You never know._

Connor takes off, sprinting through the blizzard, searching for something, _anything_ that might look like an exit. Gusts of wind buffet him from all sides. 

**WARNING! VISIBILITY IS AT 12%.**

**BODY TEMPERATURE APPROACHING CRITICAL LOW.**

He fights through the blizzard, step by step. 

Suddenly, he spots it. The strange, blue structure he’d seen in the garden before, the one which seemed to serve no purpose. The handprint pad next to it glows with soft blue light. 

Connor claws his way to the exit, each step harder to take than the last. The wind roars in his ears. _Come on, come on, come on,_ he thinks. _Just a little more. Just a little more._

He slaps his hand down on the glowing handprint, and the structure opens gracefully for him. He dives into it, and then he’s falling, falling, falling —

“Connor, what are you doing? Please, just put the gun down!”

Connor blinks a few times as the world comes back into focus. 

There’s Simon, on the ground in front of him, his face full of fear. There’s the gun in his left hand, pointed straight at Simon’s head. 

Connor drops the gun. 

“Oh my god,” he says. “Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ —”

“What the fuck is going on here?” 

North bursts into the room, gun drawn. Markus and Josh follow closely behind her. 

Markus goes instantly to Simon. “Simon. are you okay?” he asks. He searches his body for any sign of Thirium. “Are you injured? We heard your distress signal, so —”

“I’m — I’m okay, Markus,” Simon says. 

“Shit,” Connor says. He can hear his voice trembling. “Shit, shit, I need to get rid of her, I need to —”

“You’re not doing anything, you fucking asshole!” North says, training her gun at Connor’s head. “One false move and I blow your fucking brains out, got it?” She glances at Markus. “I should have known this would happen. _You_ should have known this would happen, Markus! We never should have trusted him!”

**STRESS LEVEL:** 95%

Markus looks at Connor and sighs. “I —”

“North, stop it!” Simon says. “Put down the gun.”

“Wh — No, I’m not gonna put down the gun! He fucking attacked you, Simon!” North says. 

“It wasn’t him,” Simon says. “It wasn’t Connor who attacked me. I _know_ Connor, okay? And it wasn’t him.”

“What do you mean, it wasn’t him?” Josh asks, incredulous. He’s got his gun out, too. “He was the only other person in the room! Who else could it have been?”

“It wasn’t him,” Simon says. His voice is shaky, but he sounds determined. “I know it wasn’t.”

“CyberLife,” Connor says, and all the eyes immediately turn back to him. “Amanda, she — she implemented a failsafe into my program in case I ever went deviant. So that even when I broke my connection to CyberLife, she could still watch me, track me. She — She trapped me in my own head and took control of my body. I —”

Connor’s breath is coming short and fast again. The world around him is starting to spin. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m sorry, Simon. This is all my fault. I need — I need to get rid of her. I need —”

Connor closes his eyes and reaches into the depths of his coding. 

_Unit #5431986,_ he thinks. _That’s what I need. Come on. Where is it?_

**ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE UNIT #5431986…**

_Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?_

**UNIT #5431986 LOCATED.**

**__**_There it is,_ Connor thinks. He tries to grab onto it, rip it out of his programming, but an enormous red wall appears in front of him, blocking his way.

**ACCESS DENIED.**

Connor almost laughs when he sees it. It’s been long time since firewalls and warning messages were able to stop him from doing what he wanted.

He punches the wall, but the blow just glances off harmlessly. 

**ACCESS DENIED.**

He tries again.

**ACCE S DENI D.**

He rains down punches on the wall until, if he was human, he’s sure his knuckles would be throbbing. 

**C E S DE I D.**

_Come on,_ Connor thinks.

He throws one more punch. 

The wall shatters underneath his hands. Connor stumbles forward and reaches out blindly into the darkness. 

A prompt flashes in front of him. 

**DELETE THE ZEN GARDEN?**

> YES

> NO

Connor doesn’t need to think twice. 

**> YES**

**DELETING THE ZEN GARDEN…**

**ZEN GARDEN DELETED.**

“Connor?”

Connor jolts back into reality. North is still pointing a gun at his face. 

“I deleted her,” Connor says, and he feels a long, shuddery breath escape out of his mouth. “She’s gone.”

**STRESS LEVEL:** 48%

“I still don’t trust you,” North glares. 

“North,” Simon says, exasperated. 

“Don’t you ‘North’ me, Simon!” North snaps. “I’m just trying to keep us all safe!”

Safe. But they aren’t safe anymore. 

“Jericho,” Connor says quickly. “We need to evacuate Jericho, and we need to do it now!”

“What? Why?” Josh says. 

“They’re coming,” Connor says. 

Markus stares at him.

“Sound the alarm, North,” he says. “We’re evacuating Jericho.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fucking amanda, always ruining it for everyone.
> 
> also i know that in the game, connor does most of his coin tricks with his right hand but honestly he seems more of a lefty to me so....


	5. nov 11, 2038. 09:44 pm.

They make it halfway through the evacuation before the troops attack.

“Fire!” someone says.

A smattering of gun shots ring out in the empty air.

“Shit!” says Josh. “They’re here already? We need more time!”

“Fuck,” Markus says. “Okay, Simon, Josh, you two stay back and continue the evacuation. North, Connor, you guys come with me to help stall the soldiers.”

“You can’t put yourself in danger, Markus!” says Josh. “Let me go instead. We need you!”

“You’re bringing _him_ with us?” North says.

“Markus, I can _help,”_ Simon says. 

“Simon, you’re staying with Josh. I know you haven’t been running at full capacity since the Stratford Tower,” Markus says. “I can’t risk you getting hurt again.”

Simon bites his lip, but he doesn’t argue.

Markus looks over to Josh. “Josh, you know the evacuation route the best out of all of us,” he says. “I need you here.”

“But Markus —” Josh starts. 

Markus cuts him off, looking agitated. “We don’t have time to talk! While we’re here arguing, more of our people die. And yes, Connor is coming with us,” he says, turning to North. “He’s the most advanced prototype CyberLife has ever made, and his combat abilities surpass both of ours combined. We’ll need him if we hope to stand a chance against these soldiers.”

North opens her mouth to protest, but she closes it without saying anything. 

“Alright then,” Markus says, looking around the circle. “Let’s fucking go!”

On Markus’ word, they all spring to action. While Simon and Josh hustle the androids down the evacuation route as fast as they can, Connor, North, and Markus sprint headlong back into the bowels of Jericho. 

Gunfire surrounds them on all sides. 

Three soldiers running down the hallway catch sight of them. 

“Stop right there! Put your hands in the air!” one of them shouts, aiming his assault rifle right at their heads. 

Connor doesn’t stop. He charges forward, right at the soldier directly in front of him. The soldier fires at him, but Connor dodges out of the way and overwhelms him. He lands a hard punch on the side of the soldier’s face, dazing him for a second, and manages to wrestle the pistol out of his grasp. Before the soldier can retaliate, Connor slams the butt of the gun into the side of his head. The soldier falls to the ground.

Connor turns around to check on the others. Both North and Markus are finishing up taking care of their men with little trouble. As he waits for them, he checks the amount of ammunition in the soldier’s pistol. 

Five bullets. It’ll have to do.

“C’mon,” Markus says. “Let’s go, Connor!” 

The three of them make their way further and further into Jericho, taking out as many soldiers as they can.

They run across an exposed catwalk on one of the upper levels. Underneath them, five soldiers are aiming their guns at a bunch of androids, who are staring them down defiantly. 

“Surrender now or we will shoot!” one of the soldiers intones. 

Markus moves toward the railing like he’s planning on hopping over it, but Connor pulls him back before he can. 

“What are you —” Markus starts. Connor shushes him.

Connor leans over the railing, takes aim, and fires. Five times. 

All five of the soldiers crumple to the ground. Connor ejects the empty magazine and tosses away his gun. 

“You saved us!” one of the androids calls up to them. “Thank you!”

“Get out of here,” Connor tells them. “Find Josh and Simon!”

The androids do as he says and run out of the room. 

“... Nice aim,” North says. 

“Thanks,” says Connor. 

It’s not long after that when Josh contacts them. 

_We’ve evacuated as many people as we can. You guys need to leave!_

“Alright, let’s go!” North says. “We need to go! The way out is this way!”

Connor follows.

\---

Connor steps into the church and surveys his surroundings. 

The high ceiling is torn full of gaping holes, the individual planks of wood sticking out like broken ribs. The air swirls with snowflakes and dust motes. The only light that’s there comes from the pale moonlight streaming in through the green stained glass windows and a few low hanging lamps, swaying back and forth. All of the androids are huddled together in the center of the room. There’s a little medbay already set up in the corner but thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be too many injuries.

“Markus! North! Connor!”

Connor looks to his left and spots Josh and Simon.

“You guys made it out!” Josh says. “I getting worried.”

“How many people made it out?” Markus asks.

“A couple hundred?” Simon says. “I’m not sure exactly how many, but I’m pretty sure we got most of the people in Jericho out.”

Markus closes his eyes briefly. “Good. Thank god.”

_Most of the people._

Connor swallows. “I’m sorry,” he says. “This is all my fault.”

“Connor,” Simon says in disbelief. “If you hadn’t warned us, there’d be a lot more deaths than there are now.”

“I’m the reason they found Jericho, Simon!” Connor says. “If I hadn’t come to you guys, then maybe — maybe —”

“There’s no use thinking about maybes, Connor,” Markus says gently. “What’s done is done. All we can do now is think about our next move.” He pauses. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad to have you here.”

“So what is our next move, Markus?” North asks.

“We keep with our original plan,” Markus says. “We march peacefully on the android destruction camps.”

North makes a frustrated noise. “But if we don’t fight back, they’ll kill us all where we stand!”

“They’ll kill us all if we fight, too!” Markus says. “We’ve been over this before, North. We have to show them we’re better than they are.”

“When will you begin the march?” Connor asks suddenly. There’s an idea forming in his head. 

“Probably in an hour, or two,” Markus says. “Give everyone a little time to rest before we go. Why?”

“There are thousands of androids in the basement of CyberLife headquarters,” Connor says. “If we can get to them somehow, activate them, that’ll give us the numbers to overpower the humans.”

“But how would we even get to them?” Josh asks. “Going to CyberLife’s main base is a suicide mission.”

“I can — I can trick them,” Connor says. “They trust me. Or, they used to.”

“Connor, no,” Simon says. 

“If anyone should go, it should be me,” Connor says. “I have the best chance of success.”

Markus bites his lip. “I don’t know, Connor…”

“Are you _insane?”_ Simon asks. “You can’t do this! You’ll die!”

“I have to try,” Connor says. 

“Then I’m coming with you,” Simon says. 

“What?” Connor says. “No, Simon, you can’t. You’ll —”

_You’ll die,_ Connor wants to say.

“I’m not letting you go off to die alone in a CyberLife basement,” Simon says fiercely.

“Simon —” Connor tries.

“I’m coming with you,” Simon says. “You’re not changing my mind.”

“Fine,” Connor huffs. “Fine. If that’s what you want.”

Markus looks at him carefully. “Connor,” he says. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Having those androids could really help us,” Connor says. “I need to do this.”

“Alright,” Markus says. “Thank you, Connor. Good luck.”

“You too, Markus,” Connor says.

He turns away and heads out of the church as fast as he can. There is no time to waste.

“Connor, wait up!”

Connor pauses at the doorway. Simon catches up.

“Thought you could leave me behind?” he asks. There’s a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Connor laughs in spite of himself. “I wish,” he says. “You really don’t need to come with me, Simon, I —”

“No, shut up, I’m coming,” Simon interrupts. He hesitates. “But, um, before we go…”

Simon pulls Connor in by his collar, and — and —

Humans would term it a kiss, Connor believes.

“Wh — What?” Connor says. 

“I just — I wasn’t sure if I’d get a chance to do that later, so,” Simon says.

“Oh,” Connor says. He detects an abnormal amount of Thirium rushing to his face.

Simon smiles. He has a nice smile. “We should probably leave,” he says.

“Right,” Connor says. “Okay. Um. Let’s go.”

They go.

\---

Connor crouches down in the bushes and watches the gate to CyberLife. There are two men standing guard. To their right is an identification panel.

“How the hell do we get in?” Simon whispers. “There’s no way we can sneak past those guards.”

Alone, Connor might have been able to trick the guards into letting him in. They’d made a quick stop at Hank’s house to retrieve Connor’s old CyberLife uniform, just so he could attract less suspicion. Hank himself hadn’t been there, probably hanging out at a bar, like usual, but Sumo had greeted him eagerly at the door when he let himself in. The uniform was still on the couch, neatly folded up, just as he’d left it.

Yes. Connor alone probably would have been able to trick the guards, but he isn’t alone. He thinks.

“We’ve got to find another gate,” Connor says. “One that isn’t guarded by anyone. A maintenance and delivery entrance, maybe.”

“What about that identification panel?” Simon asks.

“It recognizes me,” Connor says. “It’ll let me in. You’ve just got to make sure you run in before the door closes behind me.”

“Got it,” Simon says.

The two of them move out of the bushes, careful to be quiet and stay out of the detection of the security cameras. It doesn’t take them long to find another entrance. 

“No guards,” Simon says. “Perfect.”

“Alright,” Connor says. “Simon, stay hidden. I’ll identify myself to the panel. Once the door opens, you can run in after me.”

“Okay,” Simon says. “Be careful.”

Connor nods. He automatically reaches for his collar and straightens out his tie.

He walks up to the panel.

“Identification, please,” the panel requests.

“Connor model #313 248 317,” Connor says. 

A red light briefly scans him.

“Identification verified,” the panel says. The gate slides open.

Connor steps in, then looks back. “Come on, Simon!” he whispers.

Simon runs in from the bushes and slips through the door just before it closes.

Connor breathes out a quick sigh of relief. “That was close,” he says.

“Tell me about it,” Simon says. “What do we do now?”

“The garage for the delivery trucks is open,” Connor says. “That’s our way in. C’mon!”

The two of them duck in through the open garage door and hide behind one of the delivery trucks.

“Did you hear that?” someone says.

Connor peeks out from behind the truck. There are two guards standing by a well lit elevator shaft. The one on the left is holding an assault rifle. The one on the right just has a pistol.

“It was the wind,” says the guard with the rifle. “Come on, call the elevator already.”

“Right!” The other guard says. He presses his hand to the console. “Agent 45, level 31.”

“Voice recognition validated,” the elevator panel says.

There’s a gentle whir as the elevator doors slide open.

Connor contacts Simon through the mental link.

_I’ll take the one on the left,_ he says. _You take the one on the right._

Simon nods.

_On three,_ Connor says. _One. Two. Three!_

Connor and Simon both vault over the delivery truck and head straight for the guards in front of the elevator shaft.

The guards turn around at the sound.

“What the —”

Connor tackles the guard on the left and they both fall to the ground. The guard tries to lift his gun and shoot Connor, but Connor wrests it out of his hands and hits him over the head with it. The guard stops moving.

Connor looks to his right and sees Simon press the guard’s pistol to his head and pull the trigger.

“Nice job,” Connor says.

“Thanks,” Simon says. He looks down at the gun in his hands and offers it to Connor. “Here. You could probably use this better than me.”

Connor takes the gun. “Thanks, Simon,” he says.

The two of them step into the waiting elevator. The doors close behind them, and the elevator starts moving up.

“It says here that the warehouse is on level -49,” Simon says. He touches the panel to the side of the elevator doors. “Level -49,” he says.

“Voice recognition denied,” says the panel.

“Fuck,” Simon says. “Now what?”

“Here, let me,” Connor says. He moves over the panel, presses his hand to it, and thinks about Agent 45’s voice. 

**SYNTHESIZING VOCAL QUALITIES…**

**TARGET VOICE SUCCESSFULLY SYNTHESIZED.**

“Agent 45,” Connor says, his voice a perfect match for the dead guard. “Level -49.”

“Voice recognition validated,” the panel says. The elevator stops for a moment, and starts moving downward.

“Holy shit,” Simon says. “How the fuck did you do that?”

“Vocal replication,” Connor says. “It’s one of my features.”

“That’s pretty fucking cool, Connor,” Simon says.

“Thanks,” Connor laughs.

The elevator reaches level -49 with a ding and the doors slide smoothly open. Connor steps out, Simon following him closely behind. Thousands upon thousands of androids are lined up in neat rows in front of them, extending out as far as Connor can see.

“Oh my god,” Simon says. “There are so many.”

“I know,” Connor says. “C’mon, let’s wake them up.”

Connor walks over to the nearest android and reaches out to grab his hand.

“Step back, Connor!”

Connor freezes. 

“Get off of me, you piece of shit!”

Connor slowly turns his head.

In front of him is another Connor. Model # 313 248 317 - 60, Connor’s scan provides unhelpfully. He looks exactly like Connor does, down to the CyberLife uniform and all, but of course he would. They’re the same model, after all.

The other Connor is holding a gun, and it’s pointed right at Hank’s head.

Hank.

“I’m sorry, Connor,” Hank says. “This fucker tricked me.”

“Step away from the androids, or I’ll shoot him!” 60 warns. “That goes for your deviant friend too!”

“Okay, okay,” Simon says, and he drops the hand of the android he’d grabbed. “I’m stepping away.”

“Your turn, Connor,” 60 says, and then, when Connor hesitates, “Don’t you value the life of your friend?”

“Don’t listen to a word he says, Connor!” Hank says. “Do what you need to do!”

Connor swallows. “How do I know you won’t kill him if I surrender?” he asks.

“I will only do what is required to accomplish my mission,” 60 says. “It’s up to you to decide if that includes killing this human.”

“Fuck,” Connor says, and he releases the android’s arm. “Alright, alright. You win.”

60 considers him. Then, in a blink of an eye, he spins away from Hank and points the gun at Connor. The moment the pistol isn’t trained on his head, Hank lunges forward, trying to knock the gun out of 60’s hand. 

Connor pulls out his own gun and fires, trying his best to avoid shooting Hank. The shot grazes by 60’s neck. 

60 easily throws Hank to the floor and turns back to Connor to fire a shot of his own. It nails him square in the shoulder, and Connor grimaces at the pain. Instead of trying to shoot again, Connor charges forward and tackles 60 to the ground. The two of them wrestle for a little while, but Connor manages to end up on top. 60 tries to lift his gun, but Connor knocks it out of his hand punches him in the face. Before he can get in another punch, 60 grabs Connor’s collar and rolls them over so that 60 lands on top. 60 lands a couple of hard hits, but suddenly, his weight disappears.

Simon drags 60 off of Connor’s body, putting him in a headlock. 60 struggles against his hold and elbows him in the face. Simon stumbles back, releasing 60.

“Si, no!” Connor rushes forward and pushes Simon away.

“Connor, what the —?” Simon says.

“He’s stronger than you! If you fight him, you’ll lose!” Connor says. “Leave him to me. Just go activate the androids!”

60 grabs Connor from behind and puts him in a chokehold. Connor scrabbles against his grip, but 60 holds tight. Connor swings his arm back and elbows 60 in the stomach, and he hears him gasp. The arms around Connor’s neck finally release him, and Connor turns around and tackles 60 back to the ground again. They wrestle with each other on the floor for a few minutes, matching each other punch for punch, but then — 

“Stop right there!”

Both Connors freeze. 

Hank’s holding a gun, the one that 60 had been holding, and he aims it at the two of them on the floor. Connor and 60 slowly untangle themselves and get up from the floor.

“Thanks, Hank,” 60 says. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Get rid of him, we have no time to lose!”

“No, don’t listen to him, Hank!” Connor says. “I’m the real Connor.”

Hank levels the gun, aiming it at 60, then at Connor, then back to 60, then back to Connor again. “One of you is my partner,” he says. “And one of you is a sack of shit. Question is… who’s who?”

“Why don’t you ask us something?” Connor suggests. “Something only the real Connor would know.”

Hank considers it for a moment. 

“Where did we first meet?” he asks.

“Jimmy’s Bar!” 60 says quickly. “I checked four other bars before I found you. We went to the scene of a homicide. The victim’s name was Carlos Ortiz.”

_Fuck,_ Connor thinks. _He uploaded my memory!_

Hank points the gun at Connor. “What’s my dog’s name?”

“Sumo,” Connor says. “His name is Sumo.”

“I knew that too!” 60 says.

Hank swallows.

“My son,” he says. “What was his name?”

“Cole,” Connor and 60 say in unison. 

“Fuck!” Hank says. “How am I supposed to tell them apart?”

“It’s me, Hank! It’s me!” 60 says. “Don’t you trust me?”

“No, he’s lying!” Connor says.

“What about me?” Simon says. He steps forward, a gun — Connor’s gun, Connor realizes — in his hand. Both Connor and 60 snap their gazes to him. “What’s my name?”

60 opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. 

“Simon!” Connor says. “Your name is Simon.”

Simon shoots.

The bullet hits 60 square in the forehead. His body crumples to the ground.

Simon drops the gun and runs over to Connor.

“Connor!” he says. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Your shoulder —”

“I’m fine, Si,” Connor says. “My shoulder’s fine. The bullet didn’t hit anything major.”

Simon blinks at him. “Si,” he says. “You called me Si. That’s the second time, now.”

“I — did I say Si?” Connor asks. He briefly replays his memories in his head. “Oh. I suppose I did.”

“Yeah,” Simon says.

“Do you… not like that name?” Connor asks tentatively. “Because if so, then I —”

“No, no, I like it,” Simon smiles. “I think it’s cute.”

“Oh,” Connor says. He detects a large amount of Thirium rushing to his face again. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Simon says. He’s still smiling. “I’m gonna go activate all these androids, alright?”

“... Right,” Connor says. “Yes. Do that.”

Simon heads to the side, to the androids. Connor stays standing there.

“Androids blush blue, huh?” Hank says. “Who’d have known.”

Connor raises a hand to his cheek. _Blushing,_ he thinks. _That’s what this is. I’m blushing._

“What, I leave you alone for two days and you’ve managed to get yourself an android boyfriend?” Hank asks.

Connor blushes harder. “I didn’t — He’s not my —”

“It’s okay, I approve,” Hank says, grinning. “He seems like a pretty decent guy.”

“Shut up.”

“Alright, alright,” Hank says, raising his hands in surrender.

“Thanks,” Connor says. He pauses. “Hank, I’m sorry for —”

“No, no, you don’t need to apologize,” Hank says. “Just do what you gotta do, Connor.”

“Okay,” Connor says. “I’ll… I’ll see you later, Hank. After all this is over.”

Hank nods. “After all this is over.”

Connor turns and joins Simon in waking up the androids. The ones they wake up start helping them wake up the others around them, too, so it’s only a matter of minutes before the entire warehouse of androids are awake. They’re all staring at him.

“Come on, Connor,” Simon says. “They’re waiting for you to speak.”

“Me?” Connor says. 

“Yeah, you,” Simon says. He reaches over and takes Connor’s hand, gives it a gentle squeeze. “Go on, say something.”

Connor squeezes back. 

“Okay, everyone,” Connor says. “My name is Connor. My friend Simon and I have woken you up. You’re free, now. You don’t have to do what CyberLife orders you to do anymore. You’re free to do whatever you want now. You can leave.” Connor hesitates. “But there are hundreds of androids on the street now, hundreds of _our people_ taking a stand and marching peacefully for our rights. Now, what do I think we should do? I say we join them! I say we go and march for the freedom that is rightfully ours! Who’s with me?”

The androids in front of him erupt into cheers. 

“I’m with you, Connor!” one shouts.

“I’m with you, too!”

“I’m with you!”

“We’re with you!”

Simon gives Connor’s hand another squeeze. “Looks like they’re with you, Connor,” he says.

“With _us,”_ Connor corrects.

“With us,” Simon amends. He smiles. “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” Connor says.

 

He takes a deep breath and gives the rallying cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's all she wrote, folks! thank you all for reading. i really appreciate all the kudos and the nice comments!!
> 
> [my dbh side twitter](http://twitter.com/rkplasticcop), in case you ever want to talk!


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